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Daily Updates on the world of FightingSun, 02 Aug 2015 17:00:00 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.6UFC Fight Night 68: Henderson Vs. Boetsch Recaphttp://fightlinker.com/ufc-fight-night-68-henderson-vs-boetsch-recap/
http://fightlinker.com/ufc-fight-night-68-henderson-vs-boetsch-recap/#commentsSun, 07 Jun 2015 17:00:00 +0000http://fightlinker.com/ufc-fight-night-68-henderson-vs-boetsch-recap/The Octagon touched down in New Orleans Saturday night with UFC Fight Night 68 and finishes were in strong demand. It wasn’t the quickest of the 10 finishes, but it might have been the most meaningful, as Dan Henderson knocked out Tim Boetsch in 28 seconds. The former Pride and Strikeforce champion caught Boetsch with […]

The Octagon touched down in New Orleans Saturday night with UFC Fight Night 68 and finishes were in strong demand.

It wasn’t the quickest of the 10 finishes, but it might have been the most meaningful, as Dan Henderson knocked out Tim Boetsch in 28 seconds. The former Pride and Strikeforce champion caught Boetsch with a right hand, adding an uppercut and a flurry to earn his 31st career victory.

Henderson stated he had no plans to retire whether he was a winner or loser, but earning his 15th career victory via knockout makes it much easier to continue competing inside the Octagon.

Heavyweights went toe-to-toe for just under two minutes in the co-main event before Ben Rothwell locked up a choke on Matt Mitrione. Rothwell quickly got the tap, and left Jon Anik almost speechless with his post-fight interview in which he stated only “politics” can keep him from the UFC title.

Dustin Poirier gave the Bayou faithful a huge reason to cheer, keeping the string of finishes going with an incredible TKO over Yancy Medeiros in the first round. Poirier, a native of Louisiana, improved to 2-0 inside the Octagon since moving up to 155 pounds.

Brian Ortega and Thiago Tavares appeared to be headed for a tough decision when the former Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion landed with a clean shot. Ortega followed up and earned a third round TKO, returning from a suspension for a failed drug test.

In a bout 10-months in the making, Anthony Birchak knocked former Bellator champion Joe Soto out cold in the opening round. The two were expected to fight last year, but UFC officials moved Soto into a title fight opposite T.J. Dillashaw after Renan Barao was forced out on weigh-in day.

Francisco Rivera earned his first win since 2013 when he floored Alex Caceres to start the main card in just 21 seconds. He connected with the left, dropping Caceres and earning his 11th career victory in the process – including his seventh finish.

Louisiana’s own Shawn Jordan earned his second win over Derrick Lewis in the prelim main fight, as the heavyweight scored a finish inside of the first minute of round two. Several years ago, Jordan – a former LSU college football standout – earned a decision over Lewis.

Omari Akhmedov scored a TKO over Brian Ebersole after injuring the leg of Ebersole through the first round. Chris Wade used his wrestling to control Christos Giagos and improve to 10-1 with a decision victory.

Joe Proctor made history, scoring the latest three-round lightweight finish when he submitted Justin Edwards at the 4:58 mark of the third. Proctor and Edwards were close heading to the final round, but Proctor locked up a tight guillotine.

Jose Quinonez kicked off the Fight Pass prelims with a picture-perfect submission, easily taking Leonardo Morales down and locking up a rear-naked choke inside the first round. Also, Jake Collier made his three boys at home brought, pulling out a split decision over Ricardo Abreu.

The “Fight of the Night” went to Ortega and Tavares, while Poirier and Jordan each picked up “Performance of the Night” bonuses. The attendance inside the Smoothie King Center was announced at 6,231 for a live gate of $621,523.

]]>http://fightlinker.com/ufc-fight-night-68-henderson-vs-boetsch-recap/feed/0Complete Coverage Of UFC Fight Night 68http://fightlinker.com/complete-coverage-of-ufc-fight-night-68/
http://fightlinker.com/complete-coverage-of-ufc-fight-night-68/#commentsSat, 06 Jun 2015 21:11:18 +0000http://fightlinker.com/complete-coverage-of-ufc-fight-night-68/Welcome to FightLine’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 68. Tonight will see a middleweight battle between Dan Henderson and Tim Boetsch occupy the main event slot, while ranked heavyweights Ben Rothwell and Matt Mitrione collide in the co-main. Both Henderson (30-13) and Boetsch (18-8) are coming off losses, as Henderson was stopped by Gegard […]

Tonight will see a middleweight battle between Dan Henderson and Tim Boetsch occupy the main event slot, while ranked heavyweights Ben Rothwell and Matt Mitrione collide in the co-main.

Both Henderson (30-13) and Boetsch (18-8) are coming off losses, as Henderson was stopped by Gegard Mousasi in January and Boetsch suffered a submission defeat to Thales Leites that same month. Overall, the two are just 3-7 in their last 10 combined fights.

Rothwell (34-9) and Mitrione (9-3) are on the opposite end of that spectrum, having combined to go 7-3 in their last 10. Rothwell finished Alistair Overeem in the first round of their September meeting last year, while Mitrione – who has made all of his pro fights inside of the Octagon – downed Gabriel Gonzaga in December.

Daniel Cormier and Ryan Bader were scheduled as the original headline bout before Cormier was removed and inserted into a recent championship match.

Let’s get to the action!

PRELIMINARY CARD

Jose Quinonez vs. Leonardo Morales

We begin the night with a catchweight contest after Leonardo Morales (4-1) came in heavy for his planned bantamweight affair with Jose Quinonez (3-2).

Round 1: Stiff kick from Morales is caught and Quinonez unloads. He’s backing Morales down and attacking, tying him up in the clinch. Excellent job by Morales to defend the takedown, using his hand to stay upright. Quinonez, though, uses the trip and scores, moving directly into side control. He passes and advances, taking the back and getting both his hooks in. Very quick, very smooth transitions for Quinonez. He’s got the back and the rear-naked locked in, but Morales survives for now. He’s got it back again and it’s tight around the chin, and Morales is forced to tap.

Round 1: Collier working off the jab and Abreu just eats them and comes in, only to eat some heavy shots by Collier. More power punches land by Abreu, who is forced to fight from a distance due to a six-inch reach advantage for Collier. Despite being the better wrestler, Collier is content with standing and trading vs. Abreu. Here comes Collier with leg kicks, landing several to the body.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Collier

Round 2: Abreu comes right out and starts landing, but Collier connects with a flying knee. Several strikes from Abreu, but Collier is able to get his guard up and cover. Each time Collier connects to the body, he eats a right-hook right to the side of the head. Abreu’s face is starting to show some wear and tear, as he’s bleeding from the nose area. Inside the clinch and Abreu’s doing work to the body. He gets double-underhooks in and Collier fights to defend, staying upright. Spinning back-fist for Collier lands after a combo of strikes, followed by a nice 1-2 to the chin. Takedown for Abreu as we go under a minute left in the round.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Collier

Round 3: Collier really showing a diverse striking game, starting out the right with a counter-hook and a front-kick even throwing a spinning back-kick. Power takedown for Abreu, and he immediately goes to the back. Collier gets up without taking any punishment and is free. He goes right back to walking forward. Abreu lands and he has him rattled for a brief moment, throwing up a head-kick. Here comes Collier, going to the body and trying to finish. Collier now bleeding from the face, as these two have been putting in a solid battle. Another takedown for Abreu, but he’s again unable to do any damage.

Fighter weigh-ins for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 68 event went down earlier today from New Orleans, and you can find complete results right here on FightLine.

In the main event, Dan Henderson takes on Tim Boetsch in a middleweight affair, while ranked heavyweights Ben Rothwell and Matt Mitrione square off in the co-main event.

Henderson came in right at 186 pounds, while Boetsch weighed in a half-pound less. Mitrione was 255 and Rothwell 265.

Yancy Medeiros and Leonardo Morales each missed weight and will have two hours to weigh back in. Medeiros was 159.5 and Morales 140.

Early prelim action Saturday starts on UFC Fight Pass at 7 p.m. ET before fights shift over to FOX Sports 1 for the remainder of the night at 8 p.m. ET. The six-fight main card starts at 10 p.m. ET from the Smoothie King Center.

Complete weigh-in results, along with a video replay, can be found below:

]]>http://fightlinker.com/ufc-fight-night-68-weigh-in-results-video-replay/feed/1Plenty Of Intrigue At UFC Fight Night 68http://fightlinker.com/plenty-of-intrigue-at-ufc-fight-night-68/
http://fightlinker.com/plenty-of-intrigue-at-ufc-fight-night-68/#commentsThu, 04 Jun 2015 17:00:00 +0000http://fightlinker.com/plenty-of-intrigue-at-ufc-fight-night-68/When you look at the lineup for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 68 card, it’s hard to pinpoint much of importance in terms of the championship chase. Yes, heavyweights Ben Rothwell and Matt Mitrione are on the cusp of contending, and sure, Joe Soto fought for the UFC bantamweight title in his debut, but there’s one […]

When you look at the lineup for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 68 card, it’s hard to pinpoint much of importance in terms of the championship chase.

Yes, heavyweights Ben Rothwell and Matt Mitrione are on the cusp of contending, and sure, Joe Soto fought for the UFC bantamweight title in his debut, but there’s one key component that must not be overlooked.

Dan Henderson.

Like Randy Couture, BJ Penn, Chuck Liddell and countless others before him, each time Henderson steps foot inside the Octagon it just might be his last.

Henderson is one of the all-time greats, dominating over a period of time in multiple weight classes. While he didn’t secure UFC gold, he has went toe-to-toe with the legends of the sport.

As always, FightLine will have you covered with complete results, including live play-by-play of the event.

So, here’s a look at three key fights set for the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans this weekend. And, hint, hint, Henderson is included:

Dan Henderson vs. Tim Boetsch

As previously mentioned, it’s hard to remember the Henderson that wore Pride middleweight and welterweight gold, along with the Strikeforce light heavyweight title from years past.

He’s been on the receiving end of a pair of tough losses to stomach at the hands of Gegard Mousasi and Daniel Cormier in recent years, along with fights vs. Vitor Belfort, Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida.

In fact, Henderson hasn’t beat somebody other than Mauricio “Shogun” Rua since July 2011 when he finished Fedor Emelianenko.

For Boetsch, this fight is a career-defining moment. The 34-year-old is several bouts removed from a four-fight win streak that featured victories over Hector Lombard and Yushin Okami.

To make a statement and remain relevant, he’ll need to forget about a January submission loss to Thales Leites and focus in on Henderson, much like he did vs. Brad Tavares last August and C.B. Dollaway in 2013.

Ben Rothwell vs. Matt Mitrione

Like Boetsch, this could be the fight that sets the tone for the rest of Matt Mitrione’s future.

The Ultimate Fighter alum, who’s made all 12 of his pro bouts inside the Octagon, has looked incredible in stringing together three consecutive wins. Mitrione’s finished Gabriel Gonzaga, Derrick Lewis and Shawn Jordan in that time.

Rothwell, meanwhile, made an impact last September when he finished Alistair Overeem. Now, though, he’ll be the hunted vs. Mitrione.

“Big Ben” has been inside the Octagon with some of the best in the heavyweight division, including Overeem, Mark Hunt, Cain Velasquez, Andrei Arlovski and Roy Nelson.

Joe Soto vs. Anthony Birchak

So I might have cheated a bit when I mentioned members of all three key fights inside of the opening paragraphs, but this bantamweight affair between Joe Soto and Anthony Birchak has intrigue.

We all remember Soto’s debut, as the former Bellator champion was cast into the spotlight vs. T.J. Dillashaw after Renan Barao passed out cutting weight. Officials moved him from an early prelim into a world title fight, and Soto went 20-plus minutes with Dillashaw.

Now, he’ll face the man he was scheduled to meet on that August night in Birchak, who lost his debut with the UFC last December via submission to Ian Entwistle.

]]>http://fightlinker.com/plenty-of-intrigue-at-ufc-fight-night-68/feed/0Fight Card, Video Preview For Fight Night New Orleanshttp://fightlinker.com/fight-card-video-preview-for-fight-night-new-orleans/
http://fightlinker.com/fight-card-video-preview-for-fight-night-new-orleans/#commentsWed, 03 Jun 2015 17:00:00 +0000http://fightlinker.com/fight-card-video-preview-for-fight-night-new-orleans/The Octagon heads to New Orleans this Saturday night with another FOX Sports 1 event, UFC Fight Night 68. Featuring Dan Henderson vs. Tim Boetsch, much of the action airs on FS1 from the Smoothie King Center. The original main event was to include Daniel Cormier returning home to take on Ryan Bader, but officials […]

The Octagon heads to New Orleans this Saturday night with another FOX Sports 1 event, UFC Fight Night 68.

Featuring Dan Henderson vs. Tim Boetsch, much of the action airs on FS1 from the Smoothie King Center.

The original main event was to include Daniel Cormier returning home to take on Ryan Bader, but officials placed “DC” in a light heavyweight title fight – which he won, submitting Anthony Johnson late last month.

The UFC invades Stockholm tonight with a No. 1 contender match in the light heavyweight division, as UFC on FOX 14 goes down.

Alexander Gustafsson, a native of Sweden, battles Anthony Johnson in a five-round headline fight. Also, Dan Henderson takes on Gegard Mousasi in a meeting of former Strikeforce champions.

Courtesy the UFC, check out the media notes for the event. Action begins at 4 p.m. ET on UFC Fight Pass:

The Times Is Now

History will be made on January 24th, when the first ever UFC European stadium event takes place in Stockholm, Sweden. More than30,000 fans will flock to the Tele2 Arena to experience UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Johnson, a landmark sporting event for the country of Sweden, and indeed the rest of the world. This will be a night to remember for all those in attendance; a ‘Where were you?’ moment in history.

Second UFC stadium event in history

This event is significant as it is the second stadium event in the history of the organization, the biggest event in the world outside of Canada (55,000, UFC 129 Georges St-Pierre defeat Jake Shields) and the biggest ever EMEA event (over 30,000) showing the growth of the organization.

A title eliminator

A truly stacked fight card will culminate in a five round main event battle between two of the world’s top ranked light heavyweight fighters. No. 1 ranked Alexander “The Mauler” Gustafsson (16-2-0, fighting out of Stockholm, Sweden) will take on No. 3 ranked Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (18-4-0, fighting out of Boca Raton, Florida) in one of the most highly anticipated match ups in UFC history. And with the winner of this main event bout being granted the next shot at the UFC world light heavyweight title, both fighters will be looking to put on the performance of a lifetime on the night.

Former champions battle it out

In the co-main event two former Strikeforce champions will meet for the very first time. Dan Henderson (30-12-0, fighting out of Temecula, California) will take on Gegard Mousasi (35-5-2, fighting out of Leiden, Holland) in what is set to be an explosive battle inside the Octagon. Henderson, a veteran of the sport and fan favourite, is currently ranked No.8 in the light heavyweight division. He will commit to fighting at the lower 185lbs weight division, in an effort to secure a memorable win over the Dutchman, Mousasi. This is a match up that fans all over the world will not want to miss.

A light heavyweight showdown

Four of the world’s top 7 ranked light heavyweight fighters will be in action on January 24th. In addition to the main event battle, No. 5 ranked light heavyweight Phil “Mr Wonderful” Davis (13-2-0, fighting out of San Diego, California) will take on Ryan “Darth” Bader (19-4-0, fighting out of Tempe, Arizona). Both fighters come into the fight on the back of dominant wins over Glover Teixeira and Ovince St. Preux respectively. Neither fighter will be willing to relinquish their pursuit of world title domination, as they go head to head in front of more than 30,000 fans in Stockholm.

A showcase of international talent

UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Johnson features fighters from 13 different countries. Regions including Bosnia, Bulgaria, Brazil, Russia, Ukraine, the UK and the US are all represented on this truly international fight card, demonstrating the wealth of mixed martial arts talent, which is being developed and nurtured all over the world.

It’s show time for Sweden

Swedish fans will have more than one reason to secure their place at the Tele2 Arena on January 24th, as Sweden native Gustafsson is joined on the fight card by Nico Musoke (13-3-0, fighting out of Stockholm, Sweden) and Akira Corassani, originally from Lund in Sweden (14-6-1, now fighting out of New York City, New York). With mixed martial arts now one of the most widely followed sports in Sweden, fans up and down the country are expected to turn out in force to get behind their national heroes.

]]>http://fightlinker.com/ufc-expecting-history-at-sweden-card/feed/0You Want A Super-Fight? How About “Jacare” Vs. Henderson?http://fightlinker.com/you-want-a-super-fight-how-about-jacare-vs-henderson/
http://fightlinker.com/you-want-a-super-fight-how-about-jacare-vs-henderson/#commentsWed, 08 Oct 2014 17:00:00 +0000http://fightlinker.com/you-want-a-super-fight-how-about-jacare-vs-henderson/Josuel Distak, a trainer for Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, wants to see his fighter in action sooner rather than later. And with Souza stating he believes he should be the next contender to the UFC middleweight title, that might have to happen at a different weight class – unless he wants to put his ranking on […]

Josuel Distak, a trainer for Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, wants to see his fighter in action sooner rather than later.

And with Souza stating he believes he should be the next contender to the UFC middleweight title, that might have to happen at a different weight class – unless he wants to put his ranking on the line. Current champion, Chris Weidman, is expected to meet Vitor Belfort next year.

Distak is fine with that, as he recently told Sherdog he feels a meeting Dan Henderson at 205 pounds would make for an ideal fight in early 2015 for the former champion.

“I would love to see him facing Henderson in Feburary, on the same card that Belfort will face Weidman,” Distak said. “Henderson is a legend and the fans would love to see that matchup.

“I believe Jacare already proved that he deserves a shot at the middleweight title. I like the idea of putting Jacare in a special light heavyweight fight. I truly believe that, with the exception of Rafael ‘Feijao’ and Rogerio ‘Minotouro,’ Jacare can fight anyone in that division.”

Souza (21-3) recently won his seventh straight when he submitted Gegard Mousasi this past September. He is 4-0 since coming over from Strikeforce to the UFC, including wins over Francis Carmont, Yushin Okami and Chris Camozzi. His last loss came in 2011 to Luke Rockhold for the Strikeforce title.

Henderson hasn’t fought since a loss early this year to Daniel Cormier, and has stated plans to compete again next year.

]]>http://fightlinker.com/you-want-a-super-fight-how-about-jacare-vs-henderson/feed/1Big-Time Fighting Words For Jon Jones From Daniel Cormierhttp://fightlinker.com/big-time-fighting-words-for-jon-jones-from-daniel-cormier/
http://fightlinker.com/big-time-fighting-words-for-jon-jones-from-daniel-cormier/#commentsSun, 25 May 2014 15:00:00 +0000http://fightlinker.com/big-time-fighting-words-for-jon-jones-from-daniel-cormier/Daniel Cormier dominated Dan Henderson Saturday night in the co-main event of UFC 173 and called out Jon Jones after. The victory pushed Cormier’s record to 15-0 and he made no bones about wanting to square off with “Bones” for his UFC light heavyweight title next. “Jon Jones, you can’t run away from me forever,” […]

Daniel Cormier dominated Dan Henderson Saturday night in the co-main event of UFC 173 and called out Jon Jones after.

The victory pushed Cormier’s record to 15-0 and he made no bones about wanting to square off with “Bones” for his UFC light heavyweight title next.

“Jon Jones, you can’t run away from me forever,” Cormier said. “I’m that kid at the wrestling tournament who is always in your bracket. You better hurry, because I’m only getting better.”

Cormier had no trouble taking Henderson (30-12) down time and time again in a battle of former U.S. Olympic wrestlers. “DC” made sure to let Jones know he would do the same thing if they meet up.

“Nobody can wrestle me,” Cormier said. “If I decide to take Jon Jones down 100 times, I will take him down 100 times. This is my Octagon. I’m the man.”

After winning the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix with wins over Josh Barnett an Antonio Silva, Cormier came to the UFC and defeated Roy Nelson and Frank Mir before moving to light heavyweight. He was convincing in his 205-pound debut earlier this year, dominating Patrick Cummins.

Jones is scheduled to meet Alexander Gustafsson next, with the bout rumored for August. The two fought to a decision last year.

]]>http://fightlinker.com/big-time-fighting-words-for-jon-jones-from-daniel-cormier/feed/1UFC President Not Making Any Unsigned Fight Announcements Anymorehttp://fightlinker.com/ufc-president-not-making-any-unsigned-fight-announcements-anymore/
http://fightlinker.com/ufc-president-not-making-any-unsigned-fight-announcements-anymore/#commentsSun, 06 Apr 2014 16:00:00 +0000http://fightlinker.com/ufc-president-not-making-any-unsigned-fight-announcements-anymore/UFC president Dana White has made public fights that were not yet fully signed, sealed and delivered. So he knows first-hand that premature announcements can come back to bite you. As a promotion, the UFC has become accustom to rescheduling fights after injuries to the athletes. The latest, UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, is forcing […]

UFC president Dana White has made public fights that were not yet fully signed, sealed and delivered. So he knows first-hand that premature announcements can come back to bite you.

As a promotion, the UFC has become accustom to rescheduling fights after injuries to the athletes. The latest, UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, is forcing White to take a different approach to his game.

“We’re still working on a lot of stuff,” said White, during an interview with MMAjunkie.com. “Ever since Weidman went down and needed knee surgery, we’ve been moving things around and shaking things up. I’m still working on all that.”

“All that” includes a rumored Dan Henderson-Daniel Cormier bout, along with where Chael Sonnen-Wanderlei Silva will take place.

“A lot of stuff was getting announced prematurely and that drives me crazy,” White said. “There was a lot of premature stuff out there about fights that were going to happen. Most if it is not true because none of it’s done yet.”

]]>http://fightlinker.com/ufc-president-not-making-any-unsigned-fight-announcements-anymore/feed/0Middleweight Free-For-Allhttp://fightlinker.com/middleweight-free-for-all/
http://fightlinker.com/middleweight-free-for-all/#commentsTue, 24 Feb 2009 20:22:21 +0000The interwebs has been buzzing in the aftermath of UFC 95 about the current state of the organization's middleweight division. The 185 pound weight class has long been considered the middle child of the UFC; while it has never been entirely boring, it's been overshadowed and ignored in favor of the superstars and megafights seen elsewhere. For that reason, people have tended to pay more attention to 185's older and more well-known brothers, 205 and Heavy, as well as it's younger and faster-paced siblings, 155 and 170. It looks like this all might be changing with the seemingly endless amount of contenders that have a reasonable claim to the #1 contender spot.
Nate Marquardt, Demian Maia, Yushin Okami, and the winner of the Bisping/Henderson fight all have serious arguments to fight for the title. Marquardt has been the most dominant looking fighter in the division as of late. Maia has been able to implement his ground wizardy in the most impressive fashion since a young Royce Gracie introduced North America to Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the early 90s. Okami holds an undeniably impressive UFC record of 7-1, not to mention that his name appears next to the last L on Anderson Silva's record. It might have been by DQ, but a loss is still a loss. The Bisping/Hendo winner will have a huge amount of hype after coaching the reality show and besting a quality opponent. Assuming, for argument's sake, that Silva defeats Thales Leites at UFC 97, the big question is "What do we do with this mess?"
There are many who believe the best solution is to simply match-up the two big middleweight winners at UFC 95 -- Marquardt and Maia -- and have them battle it out to decide who gets the next crack at the strap. This solution is logical as few people are clamoring for a Yushin Okami title shot, despite his impressive resume. This is more the fault of the UFC's reluctance to market him then to anything done by Okami, but it's true nonetheless. In addition, it could be argued that the Hendo/Bisping winner hasn't done as much to warrant a title shot as the other fighters mentioned.
I think there's a better option. If 'The Spider' is victorious in his title defense, I say send him on another trip to 205. There has been some speculation that the reason Silva is looking to retire when his contract is up is because he simply doesn't feel challenged. Moving up in weight is certainly a challenge. Plus, the pay check 'The Spider' would receive from fighting one of 205's bona fide stars would likely be substantially bigger than what he normally receives (imagine the buy rate for Liddell v. Silva). At the same time, this would allow the four top contenders mentioned time to fight it out in an un-official tournament, with the winner receiving a title shot. Whoever emerges victorious would have a lot more steam behind him then the winner of a Marquardt/Maia fight. This would make the eventual championship bout that much bigger in terms of hype, magnitude, and marketability which would benefit the fighters, the organization, and the fans alike.
UPDATE: We can all stop speculating. The most reliable source of news in all of existence, The Sun, is reporting that the Hendo/Bisping winner will fight for the belt.

[Anderson Silva's] next challenger comes in the form of fellow countryman Thales Leites at UFC 97, and, should he come through that test, Silva will face the winner of July's Henderson and Bisping clash.

The interwebs has been buzzing in the aftermath of UFC 95 about the current state of the organization’s middleweight division. The 185 pound weight class has long been considered the middle child of the UFC; while it has never been entirely boring, it’s been overshadowed and ignored in favor of the superstars and megafights seen elsewhere. For that reason, people have tended to pay more attention to 185’s older and more well-known brothers, 205 and Heavy, as well as it’s younger and faster-paced siblings, 155 and 170. It looks like this all might be changing with the seemingly endless amount of contenders that have a reasonable claim to the #1 contender spot.

Nate Marquardt, Demian Maia, Yushin Okami, and the winner of the Bisping/Henderson fight all have serious arguments to fight for the title. Marquardt has been the most dominant looking fighter in the division as of late. Maia has been able to implement his ground wizardy in the most impressive fashion since a young Royce Gracie introduced North America to Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the early 90s. Okami holds an undeniably impressive UFC record of 7-1, not to mention that his name appears next to the last L on Anderson Silva’s record. It might have been by DQ, but a loss is still a loss. The Bisping/Hendo winner will have a huge amount of hype after coaching the reality show and besting a quality opponent. Assuming, for argument’s sake, that Silva defeats Thales Leites at UFC 97, the big question is “What do we do with this mess?”

There are many who believe the best solution is to simply match-up the two big middleweight winners at UFC 95 — Marquardt and Maia — and have them battle it out to decide who gets the next crack at the strap. This solution is logical as few people are clamoring for a Yushin Okami title shot, despite his impressive resume. This is more the fault of the UFC’s reluctance to market him then to anything done by Okami, but it’s true nonetheless. In addition, it could be argued that the Hendo/Bisping winner hasn’t done as much to warrant a title shot as the other fighters mentioned.

I think there’s a better option. If ‘The Spider’ is victorious in his title defense, I say send him on another trip to 205. There has been some speculation that the reason Silva is looking to retire when his contract is up is because he simply doesn’t feel challenged. Moving up in weight is certainly a challenge. Plus, the pay check ‘The Spider’ would receive from fighting one of 205’s bona fide stars would likely be substantially bigger than what he normally receives (imagine the buy rate for Liddell v. Silva). At the same time, this would allow the four top contenders mentioned time to fight it out in an un-official tournament, with the winner receiving a title shot. Whoever emerges victorious would have a lot more steam behind him then the winner of a Marquardt/Maia fight. This would make the eventual championship bout that much bigger in terms of hype, magnitude, and marketability which would benefit the fighters, the organization, and the fans alike.

UPDATE: We can all stop speculating. The most reliable source of news in all of existence, The Sun, is reporting that the Hendo/Bisping winner will fight for the belt.

[Anderson Silva’s] next challenger comes in the form of fellow countryman Thales Leites at UFC 97, and, should he come through that test, Silva will face the winner of July’s Henderson and Bisping clash.